Love Labours Lost
by Missannabell
Summary: There was nothing any of them could do for her, she was one of them which made it worse. She'd had enough and wanted it to end. Nothing was going to stand in her way, even it was Captain Jack Harkness. Jack & OC
1. Chapter 1

Captain Jack Harkness sat at his desk lost in his own thoughts. Gwen, Tosh and Owen had left over 2 hours ago. It had been yet another tense day tiptoeing around Emma, frightened of saying the wrong thing to her, concerned for her when she'd run to the bathroom to throw up. Jack blamed himself for what happened and why Emma was in this mess, he'd given in to her demand of letting her go undercover to try and find any new leads on one of Torchwood's current cases, while he took the rest of the team out on a new one in the welsh countryside.

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Emma James closed her eyes and tried to relax as the hot water ran through her long brown hair and ran off her back as she stood in the shower. It had been the same routine for the last three months, she dreaded the changes that were yet to come.

There was nothing Jack could do about it, nothing the others could and nothing she could do. She felt sick as thoughts whizzed through her mind making her heart beat faster, she could hear it drum in her ears drowning out the noise of the water, she took a sharp breath and her eyes shot open in fear taking her back to reality. She reached up switched off the flow of water, and reached her hand up through the steam and grabbed the white fluffy bathrobe Ianto had left for her on the heated towel rail.

She wrapped herself up in it, got out and twisted her sopping wet hair up into a towel, her back ached and she felt so tired. She slowly walked out the shower room and into his room, she dried herself off and put on the light blue shirt that was folded up on the bed. Her own clothes were too tight to get into now. She removed the towel from her head and dried her hair before tying it up, then she got into bed, pulled the blanket up tight around her and like she always did and cried herself to sleep in the dark.

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Three Months Earlier: June 1st 2007

Emma Sat in the board room, files flung across the desk. The team had been tracking down yet another missing persons mysterious disappearance, it had been the latest out of ten women, that had disappeared in the space of five months. By far this had to be the longest case any of them had worked on. Evidence was hard to pin point and there didn't appear to be any eye witnesses.

So far in this latest incident the woman "Carly Stratton" had a colourful past to say the least. Emma and Gwen had been working flat out making up her profile questioning friends and family.

Owen and Gwen had already questioned the staff in the club where she worked. The next task was to work through the regulars. Tosh had managed to draw up a list of regulars that attended the club from CCTV tapes. She'd then cross referenced it with the footage of the night at the club of Carly's disappearance. There were fifteen names to get through. Emma looked at the list and the profiles when Jack appeared in the doorway.

"Get your camping gear together. We're taking a trip to the countryside." He beamed leaning on the door frame with his arms folded across his chest.

"Camping! Jack you've got to be kidding. I can't stand it". She replied not amused at the prospect.

"That's exactly what Owen said. What is it with you lot I offer to take you out on a trip and you complain."

Emma rested her hand underneath her chin and smiled. She loved it when Jack was in this mood.

"Thanks for the offer. But if you don't mind I could really do with staying here and see if I can chase up any leads on Carly Stratton. Tosh has just given me a list of more people to question and maybe one of them might give us some new leads. Pretty please." She replied giving him a pleading look.

"Okay I suppose I can spare you. I'll take Ianto instead. Just be careful okay and call me if you find yourself in any trouble." He replied pointing at her.

"Thanks Jack." She smiled looking back down into her paperwork.

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That evening Emma headed to the seedy looking club on one of the backstreets of Cardiff where Carly had worked. She felt nervous as she entered the club, trying not to draw suspicions to herself she took a seat on an empty bar stall at the bar and ordered herself a drink. The music was really loud she could hardly hear herself think. She sipped at her drink and looked round the club, the bar man smiled at her, she signalled for him to come over. She didn't recognise him off the list of staff that Owen and Gwen had questioned previously.

"Do you know a Miss Carly Stratton?" She shouted close to his ear.

"Oh I, yeah she's a regular in here. She dances here now and again, drinks with that group over there." The bar man pointed to 3 men dressed in black business suits.

"I haven't seen her, for a while mind, must be a least a month or so, why don't you go and ask them."

"Thanks I will."

Emma slid off the bar stool put her glass down on the bar and headed over to the area where the three men were sat with their backs to the crowd deep in conversation. "Bit odd" she thought to herself wondering how an earth they'd be able to hear themselves speak. She wondered if the three of them were on the list she'd been sat looking through earlier on in the day.

"Excuse me." She shouted I'm looking for a Miss Carly Stratton, I was told your acquainted with her."

"Please sit down." One of the men got up and gestured her to sit down, he was tall, had dark hair and very deep dark brown eyes that made him shifty looking. It made Emma feel instantly uncomfortable. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

"Are you a friend of Miss Stratton's?" He asked in a very formal tone.

That wasn't a local accent Emma mentally noted to herself, she tried to place it's origin but to no avail. She didn't recognise him from the photo's either.

"Atkins, go and get our guest a drink?" He ordered one of the other men.

"Atkins?" what kind of a name was that she thought, these men were definitely not from around here, it made her even more curious to dig deeper and find out what information they knew if any about Carly.

Atkins, in his early 30's Emma guessed, with bleach blonde hair and piercing blue eyes and well built stood up, smiling at her in what appeared to be some sort of trance.

"Yes sir." He replied doing as he was told and went to the bar to get some drinks. He knew what he had to do he understood from the glint in his friend eye.

"The names Milton." The man gestured his hand to her.

"Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"Emma James." She replied trying to avoid making eye contact with him, there was something really not right about him, she sensed it and wanted to get this over and done with and out of here as quickly as possible.

"Milton, I've never came across a name like that before." She replied nervously.

"That's not a local accent either, where are you from?"

He avoided her question "Ah Atkins, good your back."

Atkins sat back down in his seat and handed out the drinks. Emma reluctantly took the glass from him and set it down on the table.

"Now where were we, my dear.. Ah yes Carly Stratton."

Emma picked up her glass and took a large nervous gulp.


	2. Chapter 2

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Sweat poured off her as she tossed and turned in the bed covers in the dark. It was the same disturbing dream over and over again every night. She desperately tried to make sense out of the visions she was seeing.

Jack watching her on the hubs monitor swiftly got up from behind his desk grabbing a decanter of water and a glass. He'd been observing her for the past two hours trying to make sense of what she was ranting in her sleep. It was only this past week that Emma had been having sleep disturbances. He'd kept her at the hub for her own safety after she'd almost got herself killed by sleep walking twice already by climbing up the fire escape of her apartment building and walking right to the edge of the roof. Luckily Owen had found her just in time as if she'd walked a few steps more she'd have been over the edge.

As Jack sat on the edge of the bed he placed the decanter and glass on the bedside cabinet before pouring out a glass of water. He frowned, a concerned expression washed over his face as he gently grabbed Emma by both shoulders.

"Let me go. Please Let me go." She murmured over and over again.

"Emma." Jack whispered.

"Emma wake up." He shook her trying to break her out of her sleep.

She wasn't responding to his efforts. So he made his voice louder and tightened his grip on her shoulders.

"Emma It's Jack. Wake up."

Emma groaned trying to focus on the familiar voice that was saying her name.

"Wake up Emma." Jack continued.

As a last resort he was about to reach over and grab the glass of water from the bedside table to throw it over her, when he heard her gasp for breath and shot up from the bed.

"Get off me." She screamed lashing out.

"It's Okay. It was just another bad dream." He said restraining her.

"Here drink some water." He added bringing the glass up to her lips. She was shaking as she curled her fingers round the crystal whisky glass.

"Your safe here." He reassured her putting the glass back on the cabinet, he could see the fear etched in her eyes.

"Help me Jack… Please I just want everything to be back to normal." She replied breaking in down in tears.

Jack embraced her tightly as she buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

"I know." He whispered fighting back his own emotions as he kissed her on her head his thoughts turning to what the right kind of Doctor would do if he was here right now.

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June 1st 2007 (23.00 Hrs Angels Night Club, Cardiff)

Emma placed the glass swiftly back down on the table. It had been her second glass of champagne. Tempting as it was to have another glass she was driving. She felt the investigation was yet again heading in the direction of going nowhere as every time she put a question to Milton he wouldn't answer and just go off on a tangent. She wondered if he really actually knew Carly Stratton at all. But there was just something about him and his friend Atkins that made her feel uneasy but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She'd defiantly mention him to the rest of the team.

The finely dressed Atkins walked over to the table with another try of dinks and placed another glass of champagne down in front of her.

"Thanks but I'm driving and I really should get going." Emma exclaimed getting up from her chair.

"Oh so soon my dear." Milton replied taking hold of her hand and gesturing her to sit back down.

"I'm sorry I really must be going."

"Very well my dear. I hope you find your friend and if I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to give me a call." He replied reaching into his black suit velvet jacket and handing her a business card.

"Thank you. I will be in touch." She took the card slipped it into her bag and headed out of the club.

Milton smiled to himself as he watched Emma walk out of the club. He reached over the table and helped himself to the glass of champagne she'd left.

" Atkins you know what I want. Meet me back at the office in an hour. We've got work to do and this time there are to be no mistakes."

"Understood sir." Atkins nodded his eyes turning a glowing red.

As Emma headed off down the street in the direction of her car she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She reached her car and fumbled for her keys she felt a shooting pain in her head.

"Oh great don't say that champagne has kicked off a migraine attack." She said to herself allowed as she got out her keys. As she opened the car door she was hit by another wave of dizziness and pain more stronger than the last. Her eyelids felt so heavy she tried to focus but to no such avail.

There was someone behind her. She could see their reflection in the car window. She tried to focus again but her body was fighting a loosing battle. She felt her eyelids begin to close and her body slide off the car and down to the floor. She out cold.

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End file.
